Where Are My Friends?
by MozieBear
Summary: What if Shadow were indestructible, as well as immortal?


So I was thinking about how Shadow's supposed to be immortal, and I got to thinking "What if he was also completely indestructible?"

This is what came of that.

Warnings: Death, Isolation, Loneliness

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own the Sonic franchise or any of it's characters.

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Emptiness. Pain. I don't know how long it's been like this. A while, I guess? I can't even remember their faces, can't even remember their names. It was . . . It was a while ago, that they died. That this happened. The blue one and the scientist had been fighting, that was nothing new. But this time it was different, this time something went wrong. The scientist, he underestimated his creation. He always did that, too, though. Still, this time he'd vastly underestimated it, and in the end he'd bathed the world in fire. I can't remember their names, but I remember their screams.

That day, lifetimes ago, we found out that I really was- really am the Ultimate Lifeform. As the fire came, a thick wall that stretched across the horizon as far as the eye could see, we tried to run. It didn't work, though. We weren't fast enough, not even Blue. The fire reached us last, and then it was washing over us, searing us to the bone. The pain was unimaginable, and I passed out.

When I came to there was nothing. As far as I could see, there was nothing. The ground of the planet we'd called home was seared, crisp, dead. I looked down at myself, sure that I too must be dead, but I wasn't. I was, however, changed. Where once I had soft fur, now I had cracked and blackened skin. The pain ran deep, but I tried to ignore it. I needed to find my friends.

It didn't take long to lose track of the days. Everything hurt too much, and my thoughts became too muddled. Everywhere I searched all I could find was scorched earth. There was no life, no plants, nothing. For a while there was water, but it was gross. Still, what choice did I have? I drank the boiling, contaminated water, and if it hurt I didn't care. Everything hurt, all the time. In the beginning there had been some signs of my body regenerating itself, but between the ever-present sun constantly pounding down on me, and the lack of food . . . I donn't even know how I was still alive. Perhaps it had something to do with residual Chaos energy?

I've been searching for my friends for a long time now, and the world I live in has been changing around me. It's been slow, and it's all a blur, but it's been steady. Recently I saw the first signs of life in a long time, something that looked like a fungus. I would have stayed, but my friends are out there somewhere.

I don't sleep anymore, when I do my friends wake me up with their screams, I need to find them.

It's hotter now than it was before, I think. And the sun seems bigger, but that's probably just my imagination. Sometimes I see things that aren't there. I see plants, or even people. Sometimes I see Blue, but he runs off before I can reach him. I . . . I hope that one's not my imagination. I hope that's him, taunting me from a distance, teasing me for being unable to keep up. He always did like racing.

The sun is setting when I feel it, something familiar, dimly echoing something inside me. It draws me closer, through a strange jungle filled with fungi and insects and unfamiliar things. I don't know how long it's been anymore, but it must have been a while. Where are my friends?

In the center of this strange new world is a gem, glowing and floating. The way everything centers on it makes me think it's the source of this new life. I should leave it, my friends wouldn't want me to take something so vital away. But, it's calling to me. I touch it, and the pain I'd nearly forgotten eases, my cracked flesh starts knitting itself together. I should leave it. Where are my friends?

It takes all my willpower, but I manage to leave it behind. I keep searching.

The next time I find one of those strange patches of life I'm not so strong. It's been so long, and I feel so empty. I haven't seen my friends in . . . years, probably. I also haven't eaten. Except, living things need food to survive. Am I truly alive? As I travel to the heart of the vegetation I'm eyed warily. The creatures in here are strange, alien. At the heart is another floating stone. My friends wouldn't approve of this. My friends aren't here.

I reach out, grab it. I feel it resonating with something in me, and I clutch it close. I feel it's energy, and I _pull_. I absorb the stone, absorb it's energy. I feel better.

The next time I pass through the area, all of the vegetation and alien creatures are dead. There are withered remains of a few of the sturdier lifeforms, but that's it. My friends aren't here.

Time passes, and I occasionally feel other Stones calling to me, I absorb them too. Some life manages to survive.

Fungus has covered most of the planet, and there are insects, and other bizarre creatures. They look at me and cower away, I do not belong. Where are my friends?

The first time I see something resembling a house my heart leaps up to my throat. Are my friends here? Did I find them? A strange creature comes out, and it's like I've lost them all over again. I watch from a distance, not far enough. It sees me and it screams. It runs inside. I resume my search. The sun is even bigger.

There are more creatures like the one I saw. They build their houses, form their villages. I learn their language by listening in when they're not looking. They speak of seeing me, and they are afraid. They are not my friends.

The creatures buildings become more advanced, they worship the one Stone I left, the large one.

The creatures remind me of my friends, and I hang around their settlements. Perhaps if I wait long enough my friends will find me.

I talk to the creatures, learn their beliefs, know them. The Stones I absorbed allow me to heal their wounds, and they worship me. They are not my friends, but I grow fond of them.

I don't know how long it's been. The creatures say they've existed for many millennia now, but that can't be right. They grow, they adapt, they build. I consider them all my children.

I have not found my friends, but I am at peace. I have my children.

The sun is getting bigger. My children are sure of it, and they are afraid. They beg me to save them, and I promise them I will.

The sun explodes.

Again a wave of fire washes over the planet, but this time it shatters the earth, decimates everything. I try to save my children, but it's impossible. All I'm left with is their screams. I have broken my promise. The pain is unbelievable, and I am unaware of anything else.

When the pain recedes I am alone, floating in nothing. Around me I can see the debris of my home, and further out I can see the stars. Where are my children? Where are my friends?

I float in the void, and I am alone.


End file.
